Armed Man Surrenders Child, Himself Police

February 11, 1985|The Morning Call

A South Allentown man armed with a shotgun and a rifle surrendered his 3 1/2 -month-old daughter and then himself yesterday afternoon after a 28-minute ordeal at his 427 Harrison St. home, police said.

Richard Leroy Croll II, 31, was arraigned before District Justice Theodore Russiano on charges of terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct. He was committed to Lehigh County Prison in lieu of $5,000 bail pending a hearing before District Justice Ralph Beck.

Police said that at one point during the confrontation, Croll held his daughter Justine out of a third-floor window to prove she hadn't been injured. He also claimed he wouldn't injure the child.

Patrolmen Joseph Minarovic Jr. and Larry Heintzelman and Sgt. Carl Held were dispatched at 5:46 p.m. to the Croll home after Croll's wife Janet reported she had been beaten and thrown out of the house by her husband. She also reported Croll had locked himself and their daughter inside the home.

Croll, police said, took up a position at a third-floor window and at one point told police not to come up for him because he was armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and a .22-caliber rifle. Police ordered spectators to move out of the area.

Police told Croll to bring down the baby and he would not be hurt. Heintzelman, police said, saw Croll holding the child in one arm and a shotgun in the other as Croll put the girl down in the hallway inside the front door.

Croll then returned to the third floor, police said, and Minarovic and Heintzelman carried the child to safety.

Police said that after Croll returned to the third floor, they were able to talk him into putting the weapons down. As police approached the third floor with weapons drawn, Croll rolled some ammunition down the stairs. He was taken into custody, and the incident was over at 6:14 p.m.